Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Employee Tenure News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, September 14, 2010 USDL-10-1278
Technical information: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYEE TENURE IN 2010
The median number of years that wage and salary workers had been with their
current employer was 4.4 in January 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. This measure, referred to as employee tenure, was 4.1 years
in January 2008. The increase in tenure among those at work reflects, in part,
relatively large job losses among less-senior workers in the most recent
recession.
Information on employee tenure has been obtained from supplemental questions
to the Current Population Survey (CPS) every 2 years since 1996. These data are
collected as part of the Displaced Worker Supplement, which is sponsored by the
Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. The CPS
is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that provides information on the
labor force status of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over.
The questions about employee tenure measure how long workers had been with their
current employer at the time of the survey. A number of factors can affect the
median tenure of workers, including changes in the age profile among workers, as
well as changes in the number of hires and separations. (See the Technical Note.)
Demographic Characteristics
Median employee tenure (the point at which half of all workers had more tenure
and half had less tenure) was generally higher among older workers than younger
ones. For example, the median tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 (10.0 years) was
more than three times that of workers ages 25 to 34 (3.1 years). A larger percent-
age of older workers than younger workers had 10 years or more of tenure. For
instance, more than half of all workers ages 60 to 64 were employed for at least
10 years with their current employer in January, compared with only 13 per-
cent of individuals ages 30 to 34. (See tables 1 and 2.)
In January 2010, median tenure for men was 4.6 years, up from 4.2 years in January
2008. For women, median tenure in January 2010 was 4.2 years, slightly higher
than the median (3.9 years) in January 2008. Twenty-nine percent of wage and
salary workers age 16 and over had 10 years or more of tenure with their current
employer in January 2010. Among men, 30 percent had at least 10 years of tenure
with their current employer, compared with 28 percent among women. (See tables 1
and 3.)
Among the major race and ethnicity groups, 20 percent of Hispanics had been with
their current employer for 10 years or more in January, compared with 30 percent
of whites, 26 percent of blacks, and 21 percent of Asians. (See table 3.) The
shorter tenure among Hispanic workers can be explained, in part, by their relative
youth. Forty-six percent of Hispanic workers were between the ages of 16 and
34; by comparison, the proportions for whites (35 percent), blacks (38 percent),
and Asians (36 percent) were smaller.
The share of wage and salary workers with a year or less of tenure with their
current employer was 19 percent in January 2010, lower than the proportion in Jan-
uary 2008. This short-tenured group includes new entrants and reentrants to the
workforce, job losers who found new jobs during the previous year, and workers
who had voluntarily changed employers during the previous year. Younger workers
were more likely than older workers to be short-tenured employees. For example, in
January 2010, 67 percent of 16- to 19-year-olds had tenure of 12 months or less
with their current employer, compared with 8 percent of workers ages 55 to 64.
(See table 3.)
Industry
In January, wage and salary workers in the public sector had nearly double the
tenure of their counterparts in the private sector, 7.2 and 4.0 years, respectively.
(See table 5.) The longer tenure among workers in the public sector is explained,
in part, by the age profile of government workers. Seventy-four percent of govern-
ment workers were ages 35 and over, compared with 62 percent of private wage and
salary workers.
Within the private sector, workers in manufacturing had the highest median tenure
among the major industries (6.1 years). In contrast, workers in leisure and hos-
pitality had the lowest median tenure (2.5 years). These differences in tenure
reflect many factors, including the varying age distribution of workers across
industries. On average, workers in manufacturing tend to be older than those in
leisure and hospitality. (See table 5.)
Occupation
In January, workers in management, professional, and related occupations had
the highest median tenure (5.2 years) among the major occupational groups. Within
this group, employees in management occupations (6.1 years) and in architecture
and engineering occupations (5.7 years) had the longest tenure. Workers in ser-
vice occupations, who are generally younger than those employed in management,
professional, and related occupations, had the lowest median tenure (3.1 years).
Among employees working in service jobs, food service workers had the lowest
median tenure, at 2.3 years. (See table 6.)

Technical Note
The data in this release were collected through a supplement to the
January 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is con-
ducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that provides
information on the labor force status, demographics, and other char-
acteristics of the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age
16 and over.
The January 2010 CPS supplement obtained information on worker dis-
placement and workers' tenure with their current employer. The data
on worker displacement are available online at www.bls.gov/cps/
lfcharacteristics.htm#displaced.
Revised population controls are introduced periodically in the CPS,
which can affect the comparability of labor force levels. Data for
1996 and 1998 are based on population controls from the 1990 census.
Data beginning in 2000 reflect the introduction of Census 2000 popu-
lation controls and are not strictly comparable with data for prior
years. Beginning in 2004, population controls are updated annually.
Additional information about population control adjustments is avail-
able on the Internet at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay
Service: (800) 877-8339.
Reliability of the estimates
Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsam-
pling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is
surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from
the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or
sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected,
and this variability is measured by the standard error of the esti-
mate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that
an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 stan-
dard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error.
BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confi-
dence. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsam-
pling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample
a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all
respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to
provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or pro-
cessing of the data.
A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and informa-
tion on estimating standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/
documentation.htm#reliability.
Tenure concepts and questions
Employee tenure is a measure of how long wage and salary workers had
been with their current employer at the time of the survey. Many of
the estimates shown in this report are medians; the median is the
point at which half of all workers had more tenure and half had less
tenure. Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time
workers.
Wage and salary workers receive wages, salaries, commissions, tips,
payment in kind, or piece rates. The group includes employees in both
the private and public sectors but excludes all self-employed persons,
both those with incorporated businesses and those with unincorporated
businesses.
In the January 2010 CPS supplement, questions on tenure were asked of
all employed persons. The main question was: "How long has ... been
working continuously for (fill in name of present employer)?"
_____ Days
_____ Weeks
_____ Months
_____ Years
For responses of "1 year" or "2 years," a follow-up question was asked:
"Could you please give the exact number of months?"
The purpose of the follow-up question is to obtain more precise infor-
mation on workers who had been with their current employer for a rela-
tively short time. This follow-up question was included for the first
time in the February 1996 CPS supplement on worker displacement and
tenure. CPS supplements that obtained information on tenure in January
of 1983, 1987, and 1991 did not include the follow-up question. In
those surveys, responses of 1 year or more could be coded only as the
nearest full year, and responses of less than a year were coded as the
nearest full month.
Prior to January 1983, CPS supplements on tenure asked wage and salary
workers, "When did ... start working at (his/her) present job?" For
wage and salary workers, the meaning of the term "job" is ambiguous.
For example, a worker who had been employed at a particular company
for 10 years and had been promoted to a managerial position 1 year
prior to the survey may have been counted as having 10 years or 1 year
of tenure, depending on whether the respondent interpreted the question
to mean tenure with the current employer or tenure in the managerial
position. To rectify this ambiguity, the wording of the question was
changed in January 1983 to specify the length of time a worker had been
with his or her current employer. The change resulted in a break in his-
torical comparability.
Interpreting tenure data
Data on tenure have been used as a gauge of employment security, with
some observers regarding increases in tenure as a sign of improving
security and decreasing tenure as a sign of deteriorating security.
However, there are limitations to using the data in this way. For
example, during recessions or other periods of declining job security,
median tenure and the proportion of workers with long tenure could
rise because less-senior workers are more likely to lose their jobs
than are workers with longer tenure. During periods of economic
growth, median tenure and the proportion of workers with long tenure
could fall because more job opportunities are available for new en-
trants to the workforce and experienced workers have more opportuni-
ties to change employers and take better jobs. Tenure also could rise
under improving economic conditions, however, as fewer layoffs occur
and good job matches develop between workers and employers.
A changing age distribution among workers would also affect median
tenure. Since older workers are more likely to have long tenure with
their current employer than younger workers, aging baby boomers in the
workforce would provide upward pressure on overall median tenure.